Russula sanguinaria

Taxobox
color = lightblue
name = "Russula sanguinaria"
status = secure

---

image_width=250px
regnum = Fungi
divisio = Basidiomycota
classis = Agaricomycetes
ordo = Russulales
familia = Russulaceae
genus = "Russula"
species = "R. sanguinaria"
binomial = "Russula sanguinaria"
binomial_authority = (Schumach.) Rauschert.
synonyms= "R. sanguinea" Bull. Fr.mycomorphbox
name = Russula sanguinaria
whichGills = adnate
whichGills2= decurrent
capShape = convex
capShape2=depressed
hymeniumType=gills
stipeCharacter= bare
sporePrintColor=cream
howEdible=inedible

"Russula sanguinaria", commonly known as the bloody brittlegill, is a strikingly coloured mushroom, a member of the "Russula" genus, which has the common name of Brittlegills. It is bright blood-red, inedible, and grows in association with coniferous trees. It was previously widely known as "Russula sanguinea".

Taxonomy

The bloody brittlegill was first described as "Agaricus sanguinarius" by Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher in 1803, and redescribed under its current binomial name by mycologist Stephan Rauschert in 1989. "Agaricus sanguinea" was described by Bulliard and renamed "Russula sanguinea" by Elias Magnus Fries.

Both the specific epithets "sanguinaria" and "sanguinea" are derived from the Latin word "sanguis" "blood", a reference to this mushroom’s colour.cite book | author = Nilson S & Persson O | year = 1977 | title = Fungi of Northern Europe 2: Gill-Fungi | publisher = Penguin|isbn=0-14-063006-6|pages=p. 118] It is unclear whether this European species is the same as the American species "Russula rosacea".cite book |last=Arora |first=David |year=1986|title=Mushrooms demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi |edition=2nd ed. |location=Berkeley |publisher=Ten Speed Press |isbn=0-89815-169-4| pages=p. 653]

Description

The robust cap grows up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. At first it is convex, but later flattens, and sometimes becomes saucer-shaped when mature. It is bright blood-red, or rose coloured at first, fading slightly with age, and often having paler areas. The cap skin peels at the margin only. The stem is firmly robust, occasionally white, but more commonly flushed with the cap colour. It is streaked vertically, and tends to turn greyish pink with age. The cream to pale ochre gills are adnate to slightly decurrent, narrow and forking. The spore print is also cream to pale ochre. The flesh is white, somewhat hot and peppery, and sometimes bitter on the tongue, cite book | author = Roger Phillips | year = 2006 | title = Mushrooms | publisher = Pan MacMillan | isbn = 0-330-44237-6|pages=p. 17] with a faint fruity smell.

imilar species

*"Russula helodes" is macroscopically identical, but tends to favour sphagnum moss in coniferous forests, and is much rarer.
*"Russula emetica" (Schaeff.) Pers. grows in the same habitat, and has a bright red cap. However it almost never has a coloured stipe, and is very crumbly and fragile.Most of the other common bright red "Russula" species grow with deciduous trees.

Distribution and habitat

"Russula sanguinaria" appears in summer and autumn. It is widespread in the northern temperate zones, and is mycorrhizal with softwood trees, often "Pinus" (pine) in coniferous woodland, on sandy soils.cite book | author = Thomas Laessoe | year = 1998 | title = Mushrooms (flexi bound) | Publisher = Dorling Kindersley | isbn = 0-7513-1070-0]

Edibility

This mushroom is inedible; has a 'peppery' taste, and is sometimes quite bitter. Many similar-tasting Russulas are poisonous when eaten raw. The symptoms are mainly gastrointestinal in nature: diarrhoea, vomiting and colicky abdominal cramps. The active agent has not been identified but is thought to consist of sesquiterpenes, which have been isolated from "Russula sardonia", [Andina D. "et al." (1980) "Sesquiterpenes from Russula sardonia," "Phytochemistry" 19, 93-97] and the related genus "Lactarius". [cite book |last=Benjamin| first= Denis R. |title=Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas — a handbook for naturalists, mycologists and physicians|pages=p. 369|publisher=WH Freeman and Company| location=New York |year=1995| isbn=0-7167-2600-9]

References